Few weeks ago Timo invented this Food Culture Lunch Break. He enjoys a lunch with someone and makes a short interview to be published on his Instagram account and on the Facebook wall. So I had an honor to lunch with him last Thursday and he made a short interview with me. I wanted to interview him as well so here it is.

Who: Timo SantalaWhere: Peninsula 1899Dish of the day: A full Szechuan menu with dim sum, dumblings, tofu and spicy eggplant.

Restaurant recommendation: If you want to get value for your money I recommend you to enjoy a lunch at Restaurant Kokki that is a teaching restaurant at the Helsinki Vocational College in Roihuvuori. They serve a salad buffet, main course and coffee or tea for 8,70 euros.

Food related tip: If you love to cook Vietnamese pho soup but do not have the time to make the broth go to Vii Voan or another Asian shop and buy these pho or pho ga stock cubes. Remember to use a lot of fresh herbs for better experience. You can also add the pho stock cubes into the boiling water when cooking rice. It makes the taste richer.

Who: Anna Keski-KohtamäkiWhere: Peninsula 1899Dish of the day: A full Szechuan menu with dim sum, dumplings, tofu and spicy eggplant.

Talk of the day: How to justify yourself buying a better camera and if you really need it or not. The special taste and numbing effect of the Szechuan peppers. The importance and power of a correct or untrue headline in a news article in the modern feed and social based news reading. The world, work and daily routines of bloggers. Vietnamese food in Helsinki. Sharing secret restaurant tips.

Restaurant recommendation: Casa Italia on Bulevardi is like travelling to Roma – Often full of foreigners, italian dudes and loud talking. I specially like the atmosphere and the cheese selection.

Food related tip: Instead of preparing traditional Christmas dishes I recommend doing a dinner with dishes you love. The only traditional one on my Christmas Eve is the rice porridge, but otherwise we’ll enjoy a french dinner with crème ninon green pea soup and a turkey breast with port wine sauce instead of ham.

- Timo Santala

From Instagram you can search for all the Food Culture Lunch Break interviews with the hashtag #foodculturelunchbreak.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LUNCH WITH TIMO? Don't be shy, just go ahead and contact him via Facebook.

PS I studied some cookery at the Helsinki Vocational College in Roihuvuori in the late 90's. So I used to work at the Restaurant Kokki where Timo likes to lunch.